No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!
SAKI Funds Help Solve 40-Year-Old Cold Case (Police1 – 5/22/2026)
On May 18, 2026, officers arrested 66-year-old Charles Berry for the rape and murder of 22-year-old Roberta Walls on May 15, 1986. This landmark arrest is a coordinated effort of the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD), the Virginia State Police, the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, the Virginia Beach Office of the Commonwealth Attorney, and the Newington Police Department in Connecticut.
Walls’ body was found in a field in the 1000 block of Ferry Plantation Drive in Virginia Beach at 6:30 a.m. A preliminary investigation determined Walls had been stabbed multiple times and was sexually assaulted. Despite the tireless efforts of VBPD investigators, the case was eventually handed off to the Cold Case Unit.
In 2001, detectives developed a DNA profile through the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. The DNA was entered into the National DNA databank.
In 2017, Virginia Beach Police sent the DNA from the 1986 crime scene to a lab in Northern Virginia. The lab created a composite photo of the killer.
The case gained momentum with the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) provided by the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. Through persistent investigation and breakthroughs in forensic technology, detectives were able to link Berry’s DNA to evidence found at the crime scene.
Astrea Forensics, Ramapo IGG Center Identify 1986 Homicide Victim (Forensic – 5/27/2026)
On Nov. 3, 1986, the skeletal remains of an adult male were discovered on a ranch west of Interstate 25, in southern unincorporated El Paso County. Following the discovery, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search of the area and located remnants of clothing and a belt near the remains.
The El Paso County Coroner determined the man had been shot in the head, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Since 1986, the Sheriff’s Office has devoted significant time and resources in an effort to link the remains to known missing persons from across the country.
Using the individual’s skull, a forensic artist created a facial reconstruction, which was publicly distributed in hopes someone might recognize him. The victim’s DNA profile was uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but no matches were identified over the years. With no identification and few investigative leads, the man’s identity remained unknown for nearly four decades.
In 2025, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division Cold Case Unit contacted the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center, located in Mahwah, N.J. After evaluating the case, Ramapo College offered its assistance, including laboratory and genealogical resources, to help identify the man.
Astrea Forensics developed a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) DNA profile from the unidentified man’s teeth. The Ramapo College IGG team then used publicly accessible genealogical databases to identify potential relatives and construct the victim’s family tree.
Through this research, investigators identified potential relatives and developed a likely identity for the remains: 31-year-old Peter Joseph Paskovich Jr.
Felon Identified as Suspect in 1997 Cold Case (Forensic – 5/27/2026)
Indiana State Police Cold Case Unit has identified the killer from a 1997 cold case. On Dec. 21, 1997, 23-year-old Angela Saco was found deceased on Huntington County Reservoir property in Huntington County. The Huntington County Coroner’s Office, Huntington County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana Conservation Officers, and the Indiana State Police responded to the scene and a murder investigation ensued. An autopsy later confirmed the cause of death was stab wounds.
Witnesses reported that Saco was last seen at her place of employment in Fort Wayne during the early morning hours of Dec. 21, 1997. She lived in Fort Wayne and had a 2-year-old son.
Nearly 100 people were interviewed during the initial investigation; however, detectives were unable to develop enough probable cause to charge anyone with Saco’s murder. As the years passed, law enforcement continued to investigate the case. The Indiana State Police spent extensive time over the next 29 years continuing the investigation.
In 2024, the Indiana State Police formed their Cold Case Unit, and a renewed focus was placed on Saco’s murder utilizing advancements in DNA testing. Twenty-eight years after Saco’s murder, evidentiary items collected and preserved at the crime scene were submitted for testing with Identifinders International, a forensic genealogy company in California founded by Colleen Fitzpatrick. A DNA profile was developed using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) DNA testing.
In February 2026, forensic genetic genealogists identified Stephen L. Shlater as a candidate suspect. He was later confirmed through STR testing as the contributor of the DNA at the crime scene. Shlater was 50-years-old at the time Saco was murdered. Ironically, he had been released from federal prison on another case in Spring 1997, just five months before Saco’s murder. Shlater died in 2021 in Huntington County. His last known residence was Markle, Indiana.
Huntington County Prosecutor Jeremy Nix advised that if Shlater were alive today, he would be charged with the murder of Angela Saco.
3 Men Exonerated After Incorrect TOD, Unreliable Witness Undermine Case (Forensic – 5/27/26)
A Philadelphia judge vacated the convictions of Jermal Shuler, Marc Brittingham, and Rasheed Smith in a 1997 North Philadelphia murder after new forensic evidence discredited expert testimony about the victim’s time of death, undermining the prosecution’s core theory at trial. Shuler, Brittingham, and Smith spent over 28 years in prison for a murder they did not commit.
The three men were wrongfully convicted based on a single eyewitness who claimed to see them at the crime scene on Saturday night the weekend that the victim was killed. The eyewitness’ testimony was corroborated at trial by the medical examiner’s initial time of death determination. However, in post-conviction investigations by defense counsel and the Philadelphia District Attorney Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), expert pathologists separately concluded that the medical examiner’s original time of death was unreasonable, and the victim likely died nearly 24 hours after the eyewitness testified that she saw the men. The judge vacated the convictions against the three men after a joint request from Shuler’s attorneys at the Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project; Brittingham’s attorneys at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project; Smith’s attorney at DLA Piper; and the CIU.
Madison County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1993 Murder of Randy Gail Sperino (DNASolves – 5/27/26)
In November 1993, Randy Gail Sperino was last seen walking in Granite City, Illinois. During the investigation, a witness reported seeing Sperino enter a dark-colored pickup truck believed to be from the late 1970s or early 1980s. On November 9, Sperino’s body was discovered in a nearby field. The grandmother had been brutally bludgeoned to death.
Investigators developed an STR DNA profile from biological evidence collected at the scene and entered the profile into CODIS. However, no matches to a known individual were identified at that time. Despite investigators’ efforts, the case went unsolved for more than three decades.
In May 2025, investigators submitted evidence to Othram for advanced DNA testing. Scientists at Othram used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive SNP profile suitable for forensic genetic genealogy analysis. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile to generate new investigative leads.
The leads ultimately helped investigators narrow their focus to a potential suspect. Following additional investigative work, authorities identified 70-year-old Albert Zigler as the individual responsible for Sperino’s murder. Zigler was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with her death.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office spent more than three decades investigating the case and interviewing hundreds of individuals in pursuit of justice for Sperino and her family.
70-Year-Old Arrested for 1993 Homicide (Forensic – 5/27/26)
After 33 years, forensic genetic genealogy has led the Madison County Sheriff’s Office (Illinois) to a suspect in the 1993 murder of Randy Gail Black-Sperino, a 34-year-old mother.
Albert Lee Zigler, 70, has been arrested and now faces first-degree murder charges for the homicide of Black-Sperino.